No doubt you will take plenty of pictures of your new baby. As well as spur-of-the-moment images you rack up, you may also want to try your hand at producing quality portraits of your little one.

With a digital camera or phone, it's so easy to take lots of pictures that you may find your memory card soon fills up. Or you may have so many images that you can't decide how to manage them. So it makes sense to try for quality over quantity. Here are some tips to help you capture those special images that will last a lifetime.

1. Lighting

If you are going to take pictures indoors, you have two options. You can use a flash or go for natural light.

If you use the flash and your digital camera has a "fill" option, your image will be brighter with stronger colours.

When taking a vertical picture, try to keep the flash at the top of your camera. This will prevent shadows that can get in the way of a good shot of your baby's face.

Red-eye shouldn't be a problem, unless you're taking pictures of your baby in a dark room. And you're not likely to want to set off flashes in a dimly lit room, in case it's disturbing for your baby.

Natural light is often best for softer images. Let the light in the room create the atmosphere of the picture. You may have an "available light" option on your digital camera that lets you disengage the flash. You’ll get the best pictures when the light is even. Slightly dull, even light is better for a good portrait than very bright sunshine with lots of contrasting dark shade.

Flashes often don't work too well on smartphones because they're not as sophisticated as a digital camera flash. If you're using your smartphone, you may want to think about upgrading your camera app. It may help you to get better images in trickier lighting.

2. Backgrounds

Keep backgrounds simple. You don't want cluttered furniture or pot plants growing out of your baby's head when you look at your pictures. When taking shots of babies, a sofa covered with an attractive blanket is probably the best background.

3. Poses

Don't try an elaborate setup. Babies and children are not models and will not be happy to pose for hours.

It’s also important when taking photos of babies and children to get down to their level. By doing so, the final picture immediately becomes more direct and intimate.

If you are serious about photographing your baby, you will need a camera that can focus close enough to let your baby's face fill the frame, especially when they are first born. Close-up images of your child’s face are very appealing.

Your baby won't identify with cameras, but he will identify with you and react to your face.

Another good tactic is to distract your baby from the camera. This is more easily done if there are two of you! Singing or chatting to a small baby is always a good way to get their attention. Other things that work well, especially as your baby gets older, are hand puppets, feathers, and pinwheels.

Using these props enable you to distract and interact with your baby, and are easy to pull out of the shot before you take his picture. For newborns, simple black-and-white graphics are best for grabbing the focus and attention of those still-developing eyes.

4. Get cropping

If you're snapping with your smartphone, don't worry about trying to frame the image perfectly by zooming in. You may miss the moment, and you're likely to get a better-quality image if you crop the image afterwards.

In fact, thanks to the quality of digital images, you can probably get away with taking long shots from the other side of the room and cropping them closer when you edit the images later.

This is a good option for capturing images as your baby grows, especially if you don’t have a good zoom lens on your device. It means your child will not be aware that he is having a lens pointed at him. Toddlers, in particular, may adopt a "camera smile", which often doesn’t show your little one’s full appeal!

5. Colour or black and white?

Why not try black and white? Your digital camera should have a black-and-white setting, or you can convert colour photos to black and white on your computer afterwards.

You can also create many other effects, such as sepia, or images with a grainy or blurred effect, to change an image’s mood. But bear in mind that too many fancy effects can detract from the composition.

6. It's the little things that count

Check your camera’s basic settings before you start taking photos, but then relax and focus on your baby. Don't get caught up in the equipment.

If your smartphone lives at the bottom of your bag, give the lens a wipe regularly with a soft cloth. You'll be amazed at how grubby it can get.

7. Pick your moment

Time it well. The most relaxed baby will not be happy if you start taking pictures when he is tired or hungry. Pick a time when you know your baby will be at his brightest, such as after his morning nap and snack. Know when to say when. Most babies will only last about five minutes at a time before becoming bored of being your star model!

Last reviewed: April 2014

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